


Free fall

by Sparticus2000



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Errortale (Undertale), Anti-Void, Blood, F/M, Fights, Inktale Sans (Undertale), Inspired By Undertale, I’ll update tags as i go, Occasional swearing, Portals, Reader is an art student, Skeletons, Tags to be added, Undertale AU’s, art student, artist, error does a violence, void
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2019-10-18 05:53:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17575073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sparticus2000/pseuds/Sparticus2000
Summary: You are a dedicated art student, attending University to improve your talents through a Visual Arts Degree!With the support of your family, and a genuine love for your craft, what could possibly go wrong, other than being late for class?What? You expected me to elaborate more?Read it to find out ;)





	1. It begins

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there!  
> I see you’ve somehow stumbled upon this fic.
> 
> How fun.
> 
> Why am I writing this?
> 
> Because I wanted to practice writing so that I could fix up a script for a webcomic I want to make.  
> (It wont be based on this.)
> 
> Regardless I hope this brings you some enjoyment!
> 
> Please, if you have the time, feel free to leave constructive criticism, I would greatly appreciate any opportunity to improve.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> -Sparticus

Familiar music fills your ears, overpowering the surrounding silence as the upbeat tune of bonetroussle gives you a sense of comfort and helps you zone out the tightly packed innards of the 300 bus. The Undertale soundtrack is one of your favourites, the nostalgia accompanying it able to pacify you in even the most stressful of situations. You loved the game and its atmosphere, so the music helps you reminisce the related emotions associated with your memory of playing it.

While public transport is typically uncomfortable, you’re more concerned about the possibility of missing your 8am art class.

Why?

Because you missed the first bus, while already cutting close to being late.

Why did you miss the first bus?

Because you had trouble finding motivation to get out of bed to get ready at 6am.  
In your zombie like stupor you then spilt your coffee all over yourself and the kitchen floor, so you had to clean up, get changed and finish your breakfast before you could leave.

You are not a morning person. 

You find yourself tightening your grip around the thin straps of your bag, as you watch the slow progression of the scenery outside the window. Eyes flickering to the door in anticipation, you swing your bag to your front and reach for the zipper. The bus shifts to a slower speed, briefly knocking you off balance as you fish out your wallet, causing you to fumble with the object. Thankfully you didn’t drop it. The doors swing open and the murmuring noises of traffic mix with the tune emitting from your earphones. People cue to the door in a jumbled mess, beginning to pile out of the bus, while others outside wait patiently to board. 

Joining the line you shuffle out, briefly thanking the driver as you swipe your bus card and step out onto the street. You put your card and wallet back into your bag as you walk before slinging it onto your back. After a few steps you take out your phone to check the time.

Your stomach twists in horror as you come to an awful realisation.

You’re going to be late.

Roughly shoving your phone into your pocket, you take off into a sprint. With several blocks between the bus stop and the school of art, you cant afford to walk.

You can’t miss this class... 

Art is far too important!

At the fastest speed you can manage, you race through the streets, your bag bouncing on your back as you dodge around fellow pedestrians and slip around corners. Sweat starts to gather, trickling down your face, neck and back from the exertion of running. The outrageous summer heat does you no favours, as the burning rage of the sun beats down on your back. It’s early morning and it’s already reached about 35’C. Summer sucks.

Reaching the crossing you are begrudgingly forced to stop by the long train of traffic and the ‘do not walk’ light. You take out your frustrations on the traffic light button as you impatiently hop in place waiting for the lights to change. This garners a few strange looks from others waiting at the lights. You don’t really care.

Whispered curses escape from behind clenched teeth as you contemplate the consequences of being late.

Figure and life is one of your core classes for your visual arts degree, one which you must complete before proceeding into your major, print media and drawing. Unfortunately, a large portion of your mark is allocated to participation. This is an issue as you had missed the previous class due to being sick. You also missed the one before because of the campus being closed for flooding. Not only that, but the class has been essential to the improvement of your art through the study of the human form. This has improved your understanding of anatomy, and allowed for your illustrations to become more fluid, so you want to catch up as much as possible.

Finally the infuriating light changes. You bolt across the road.

Running, you continue to weave between people, making your way up the last few blocks.

Oddly enough, there doesn’t seem to be anyone else around...  
But you don’t really have time to think about that.

A feeling of triumph rushes through your veins as the art school comes into view.  
Just one block to go! You’ll make it within five minutes of class starting!

Your elation is short lived as the gut wrenching feeling of falling takes hold in its place.it would appear that you’ve clipped your heel. 

You brace for impact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing happens.  
The feeling of falling retains its hold.

 

You fall....

 

Deeper...

 

Yet deeper...

 

Opening your eyes, you find yourself in a dark void of nothingness.

 

You continue to fall.

 

Your surroundings become darker...

 

Yet darker....

 

And then darker still as you descend in a free fall.

 

Just as you adjust to the seemingly continuous fall, you see a flash of white.

 

Oh wait.  
It’s getting closer.  
Shit.

 

Panic takes hold and billows out of your chest in a terrified shriek as the empty white rushes forward to meet you.

 

You curl up, protectively covering your bag and your head as you continue to scream.

 

You wait in terror.

 

“WhAt tHe- oUcH!”

 

You collided with something.


	2. What do we have here?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess you get to find out where you’ve fallen now.  
> And who you’ve fallen on.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Lucky you.  
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You bothered to put up with my awful writing after the first chapter???
> 
>  
> 
> What?
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks I guess.
> 
>  
> 
> Hopefully I’ll get better as I continue....
> 
>  
> 
> Oh yeah... also there is a tiny bit of swearing.... sorry not sorry?
> 
> Just gonna let you know in case that’s a problem.
> 
> Ciao.

It had been a peaceful day in the anti-void.  
Everything was quiet, no unsightly glitches were in sight, nothing was interfering with the balance of the multi-verse. Just the way Error liked it. It was the perfect condition for him do some knitting while binge watching his favourite ‘show’, Undernovela. Everything was great!

He was calm.  
He was happy.

 

 

 

Until a certain Rainbow asshole got bored and decided today would be a ‘wonderful’ day to annoy him.

Ink had decided to stop by for whatever reason.

 

At first, Error hadn’t noticed him, being so enthralled with the dramatic standoff occurring in his show, he had not noticed Ink enter and sit next to him. But then he started talking.

And talking.

AND TALKING.

AnD hE DiDN’t stOP.

It made error miss the end of the episode.  
He did not appreciate this. He decided to verbalise this displeasure.

“INk fUck_K OfF”

“Hahaha..... nope, so anyway as I was sayi-“

Ink didn’t get to finish his sentence. Error had already flung him across the room with his strings. 

His grin stretched manically across his face as he watched the graceful arc of Inks fall. Then he slammed his rival into the ground just for good measure. Watching the pain of intrusive idiots was almost as satisfying as arranging his puppets. Sadly. This feeling did not last, as ink stumbled into his web of strings, tearing some of his puppets down.  
That was not ok. He had put a lot of time and effort into making those...

Growling, he once again grabbed the offending skeleton with his strings and threw him viciously at the floor.

Or... he tried to at least.

Ink had seemingly been more prepared this time, as he severed Error’s strings with his brush. Perhaps he did not like being tossed around that much. How tragic.  
His strings arch and reach for ink again, aiming to converge on and capture the other skeleton in the middle.

 

However he misses.  
Or rather ink rushes through the middle and dissolves them closer to the source.  
Error leaps back, feeling a rush of air blow into his face, signifying the narrowly missed swipe of ink’s brush.

 

Locking eyes with his rival, he notices the red cross hair in Inks eye.  
It seems that he may be in for a fight. Fantastic. 

Why was ink even here in the first place?

What does it even matter though.

Hopefully if he gives his counterpart enough of a thrashing, he’ll finally leave.

He can only hope.

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

As the duo of skeletons become more and more involved in fighting, the vast nothingness surrounding them somehow manages to waver and begins to distort, errant pillars of white shooting up at all angles, some contorting into wild twisting formations, sharp spines piercing out of the ground, ripping through, or getting tangled in blue stings and busting puppets, even the ground itself begins to roll unsteadily. Layers upon layers of distortion slowly consume the anti-void, as it becomes less void like and transforms more into some sort of freakish death trap of a labyrinth.

And yet, neither Ink, nor Error manage to notice any of it, too preoccupied with trying to hit the other harder.

Or at least, that was the case until ink accidentally slams himself face first into a pillar. He stumbles back groaning, skull gingerly clenched in shaking hands as his paint brush slowly rolls away across the floor. Error watches on, his body wracked with the tremors of his laughter. He crunches over in mirth as his counterpart continues to groan in pain.

As Error calms down, a dark hole is ripped into the air above him.  
Suddenly the two hear something. They look around in confusion, searching for the indistinct noise. Quickly it sharpens and they are finally able to place it. 

It’s a terrified shriek. 

Error looks up, catching sight of the gaping hole in the very fabric of reality and the plummeting figure within it.

“WhAt tHe- oUcH!” Is all the awe inspiring eloquence of verbal projection he is able to emit before he crashes from the collision.

 

His vision blacks out, and his hearing is bombarded with the familiar dial up sound.

 

————————————————————————————————————————

 

You feel something poking into your back. It’s twitching. That’s somewhat disconcerting. You can also hear some sort of strange glitching noise....

It sounds like that weird old internet connection noise..... 

What’s it calle- OOOOOHHHH wait!

It’s dial up noise!

You’ve only seen it in old media that outdates your birth though...  
Is there an old computer somewhere around here?

You hear someone start chuckling and open your eyes. Standing before you is a.... 

You actually aren’t quite sure what it- he? Is....

 

But they look oddly familiar.... You aren’t sure where you recognise them from however.

The strange looking creature finally stops laughing and looks up to meet your eyes. He straightens himself, whilst you wonder what he found so funny.The creature grins at you, it’s strangely solid looking white face contorting to allow the action, before it begins to speak.

“I don’t know about any old computers human, but it seems you’ve crashed into an old skeleton.” It-he? The thing sounds like a he, so you’ll mentally refer to him as a he until told other wise- comments. You stare at him for a few seconds as what he said sinks in.

“I said that out loud?” you question as an embarrassed heat creeps up your cheeks.

“Yep” He smirks at you.  
Now you know what he found so funny. Or you thought you did. Until you caught onto the second half of his first sentence.

Eyes widening, you snap your head down to see the twitching form of another creature...skeleton? Beneath you.

You scramble to remove yourself, the previously creeping heat becoming a roaring inferno on your face. 

“ OH MY GOD I’m so sorry, Ididn’tmeantofallonyouisweariwasjusonmywaytoclasswhensuddenlyitrippedandfellandjustkeptfallingandthenifellonyouandI’MSOSORRY-“

You must look like a tomato by now.

You go to continue rambling out rapid fire apologies to the most likely unconscious and also weirdly familiar black skeleton thing on the floor, while the other watches you in amusement.

“You know he can’t hear you right?”

Rigidly, you turn to face the white skeleton guy, your word vomit finally coming to an end. You feel bucket loads of nervous sweat pour down your face, mixing with anxious tears. He... Looks somewhat uncomfortable.  
You probably look like a real mess.

You make an awkward ‘eh’ motion at him. He raises an... eyebrow? Bone brow? Socket brow...? What do you even call that on a skeleton...? 

Oh look! He’s approaching!  
What?

 

 

 

You don’t know how to deal with any of this.  
So you freeze.

 

Classic deer in headlights move. You have such fantastic survival instincts. 

10 out of 10. 

A for effort.

Geez your inner thoughts are salty today. 

 

It’s far too early for this.

Suddenly he’s right in front of you, patting your shoulder.

“There there.”

What?

You stare at him.

You clutch the familiar weight of your bag to your chest.

Thank god you still have that.  
What?

Art supplies are expensive! Especially for a university student.

You continue to stare.

 

He stares back.

 

You stare back.

 

So does he.

 

This feels a bit awkward.

 

He shifts a bit before moving closer. As you start to back away again he offers you his hand.

“So .... Anyway weird human! My names Ink, who are you?”

 

Then it clicks.

You know why the two look so familiar now.

 

 

 

You resolve to never show either of them your personal sketchbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Random personal headcannon, but I kinda think that Error is most likely one of the oldest sans variants, as he is a corrupted version of geno, who was a or the original sans.
> 
> Does that make sense? I dunno, but I’m going to role with it anyway!
> 
>  
> 
> Hopefully next chapter should see a bit more character interaction, which is the main thing I think I need to work on, as it helps to define characters.
> 
> It’s also the majority of writing you find in webcomics.... so yeah.
> 
>  
> 
> Laters.


	3. Getting to know you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we get to have a chat with Ink this chapter.
> 
> I wonder how that’ll go?

“So human..... you’ve kinda been staring for a while. Are you planing on telling me your name anytime soon?”

You blink. 

He shifts as your blank stare bores into his sockets. 

Slowly, you stretch your hand out to grasp his to shake it.

Electricity jolts through your hand. 

You screech and rapidly pull it back to cradle it against your chest as tears bubble up in your eyes. That really hurt!

“WHY!?” You shriek, noticing the plastic contraption strapped to his hand. 

Your brow furrows “Is that a freaking joy buzzer?”

His grin widens as he removes the offending object from his hand. “So you finally speak human! You gonna tell me your name yet?”

You stare in disbelief as he blatantly disregards your question, pocketing the device. What is even with this guy? You narrow your eyes into a judgemental squint before you begrudgingly answer.  
“Its________.”

His grin somehow widens further. 

You notice his eyes are in the shapes of an oval and a star. 

Its honestly kinda disturbing. 

You... may or may not want to punch him and leave. You think he’s kind of an ass. But sadly there is no exit in sight, just white everywhere. White floor, white ceiling, white pillars, white spines, twisty white things...

What? What even is this place? Yo-

“________ huh? That’s an interesting name! So tell me, what brings you to the anti-void?”

What?

THIS is the anti-void? 

Isn’t it supposed to be like, void of anything and everything? 

...

Were the fan fictions wrong? 

...

Actually.... that’s kinda a silly question. You decide to end the thought there, before beginning to explain.

“I..... don’t know? I was just tying to get to class on time, then I tripped and I fell. And I kept falling. And now I’m here..?”

And then it hits you. An expression of pure horror overtakes your face as you drop to your knees. Ink watches on in concern as you release an unholy wail.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! I’m going to be late for figure and life!! I need to get back- how do I leave?”

Your vocal tone drops an octave as you stare into his eyes.

He stares back uncomprehendingly, almost like he cant see or hear you.

You sink further to the floor and continue to wail in despair in a puddle of your own tears. Ink stares at you in confusion as you try to drown yourself in your sorrow. It didn’t work. The puddle was too shallow. You cry harder.

“Who are you and why are you here?”

You look up to meet to ink stained skeletons eye sockets. They contain a pair of differently coloured question marks. Weren’t they different before? You continue to sob, didn’t you just tell him that? Did he even pay attention? Wait- wasn’t he one of the ones with memory issues? 

You cant remember. 

You never really bothered to look that far into it.

You just liked the character designs and had a bit of fun drawing them.

You bury your face in your bag, squeezing it tightly. You feel the familiar weight of your art supplies. It brings you comfort to some degree.

You flinch as something touches your back. 

It moves away, before hesitantly reconnecting and beginning to rub calming circles into your back. It felt surprisingly nice. Your hands lifted to start scrubbing the tears out of your eyes. Your breaths began to slow as the tears started to run dry. While still distraught, you begin to feel better.  
Ink shifts again and stands up, offering you a hand. You take it and he helps you to your feet. You wobble a bit, but then regain your balance.  
“Are you alright human?”

You shrug “I guess... do you know how to leave this place? I need to get home-“

You don’t get to finish your question.

You feel a tug in your chest, before the ground is ripped out from under your feet. Your heart lurches in terror as you stare down. You’d been suspended mid air by a series of blue strings, which begin to tighten painfully around you. You wince as you feel the sting of the strings beginning to cut into your flesh. As you stare down, Ink stares back up at you before glancing around, seemingly looking for something. He then quickly begins to move off in the direction of an obscenely large paintbrush, when a deep glitched voice begins to speak from somewhere outside your field of vision.

“YoU_u Don’Tt BEloNg he_Re HUmAN.”

Oh shit.  
You forgot about the other one.

 

————————————————————————————————————————

 

Ink found himself staring blankly at something ....odd.

Something new.

Something interesting.

He was staring at a human girl who was curled up on the ground. Her face was red and puffy, as hysterical tears rolled down her face. He wasn’t really sure how she had ended up in the anti-void. In fact, he could barely remember why he himself was in the anti-void in the first place. Had he been visiting Error? Probably.... that seems like the most likely explanation anyway. What was he- oh right he was wondering what the human on the ground was doing here. Maybe they could provide some entertainment? His treaty with Error had been making things a little boring. He decided to ask them who they were and where they came from. His question was met with a blank stare before the human started to sob louder.

That isn’t what was meant to happen right? 

Had he already interacted with her then blanked? That’s quite possible actually.

...

Is he.... supposed to do something? 

He doesn’t really know. But the crying is getting a bit old. Maybe he should do something to make it stop? 

But what? 

Ink doesn’t really understand how emotions work, but he vaguely recalls seeing other humans engaging in physical contact to help calm each other down.... maybe he should pat her back? That might work. Possibly?

 

He isn’t really sure but decides to try it anyway.

Slowly, he approaches the crying human, his brow furrowing as he tries to pick up what they’re blubbering about. Something about ‘being late’ and missing class... didn’t humans usually dislike school? This human also looked a little too old for school.... maybe a university student? Anyway, they don’t appear to register his approach, so he quietly sits next to them and moves to touch their back. They flinch, so he draws his hand back. He pauses as he feels a dampness sink into his pants.

Is he sitting in a puddle of tears? 

Wow. 

Dramatic much. 

This human should be pretty funny to watch then.

He cautiously brings his hand back to her back, and begins slowly tracing circles. Her grip on the bag she was carrying tightens, but she otherwise seems to be calming down. Her grip loosens before she lifts her hands to her face to wipe the tears away from her eyes. They appear swollen. How interesting. The human body is kinda strange.

 

....

 

 

This...

 

 

...Is getting kind of boring.

Ink stands up.

He then offers his hand to the no-longer-crying human girl. He asks her if she’s alright. They begin to answer, but he’s distracted by the sight of blue strings encircling her. 

She’s suspended in the air before he has time to properly react. He reaches for broomy- only to realise his paint brush is missing. 

Oh.

He’d better find it. 

Where did it- ahhhh there it is!

Ink’s fingers had barely closed around broomy’s handle when he heard Error speak. He needed to hurry to release the human from his rivals strings, otherwise she would end up having a pretty bad time. Error was many things, but fond of humans was not one of them. Turning to face the human, Ink saw them wincing, she looked like she was in pain, like she desperately wanted to be literally anywhere else. The other skeleton was grinning manically. 

That was not a good sign. 

Error speaks “YoU_u Don’Tt BEloNg he_Re HUmAN.” He seems to be trying to be scary. The human blanches, beginning to shiver. 

Apparently it worked.

She is lifted slightly, before being violently swung down. Ink moves quickly to sever the strings. 

Error growls in irritation. 

The human cries out in pain. 

Maybe he should’ve painted something to catch her?

But he didn’t.

Oh well.

————————————————————————————————————————

 

You feel a rush of pain erupt from your hip upon coming into contact with the ground. It forces a cry of pain to slip from your lips. It hurts...

But at least you’re no longer trapped.

The strings were more than a little uncomfortable.

You watch as Ink sprints past you, his face set in concentration. You turn around to follow his movements with your eyes and see the other skeleton waiting, his blue strings rearing up to strike at your saviour. The black skeleton, Error if you recall correctly, looks furious. His mismatched eyes are narrowed and his savage grin is practically splitting his face in half. You feel your skin grow clammy with a nervous sweat.

You hope he doesn’t remember you falling on him.

You don’t really feel like dying today...

The two skeletons engage in battle, strings and paint clashing against each other. It’s honestly kinda cool to watch the two fight, the way that they duck and weave around each other while trying to get a hit in, or knock their opponent back is fascinating!

Your fingers itch. 

You kinda want to draw it.

You move your bag so that the zip is easily accessible, digits crawling forward to open it and dig out your beloved sketch book and mechanical pencil-

But you are disrupted by the rough shaking of the ground. 

Alarmed you look up to the skeletons.

You hadn’t thought that the pair had been doing anything at great enough a magnitude to cause the ground itself to tremble.

You notice that they are also looking around confused.

Wha-

You find yourself flying through the air. 

You brace yourself, curling in and clenching your bag to your chest. Pain shoots through your shoulder as you crash into the ground for what seems like the hundredth time today. Curious to see what had thrown you this time, you try to sit up, only to loose balance. It would appear that the ground may be responsible for your flight.

Huh.

How weird.

The startled cries of the skeletons then grabs your attention, as you roll over to see them struggling to remain standing. 

Suddenly, Error just stops, calling his strings down from the ceiling and settling into them like a swing. He lifts himself upwards while smirking down at his opponent. 

Then he turns to look at you.

You feel a chill inch down your spine as you lock eyes with him.

His smirk grows wider.

You feel something pierce your back, entering into the cavity of your chest to wrap around something...

It burns.

It feels like something...important, something personal is...

...

Like something that makes up the entirety of your being is being man handled.

Something in your chest shifts and you screech out in pain.

Something invaluable feels as if its been torn.

 

 

 

You feel so empty, but so exposed.

 

You turn to see your soul tangled within a thin blue string.

 

 

You are consumed by an overwhelming sense of horrified realisation, as manic, glitching cackles filter into your ears.

 

Error has removed your soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character interactions are hard.....
> 
>  
> 
> This is why I need to practice writing.
> 
>  
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy!


	4. Oh boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your soul has been revealed by error.
> 
> What’ll happen next I wonder?
> 
>  
> 
> Also violence warning- there’s nothing too grusome, but this chapter does see a little blood.

A fiery pain rushes through your body, causing your skin to prickle with anxiety as you stare at the luminous heart, suspended in strings before you. 

Something about it looks... off.

Wrong even.

And it isn’t just because its in the possession of someone who was likely to destroy it simply out of spite.

You don’t recall the souls from the game or the fan art looking anything like this. 

Is there something wrong with it?

The soul- no, apparently YOUR SOUL is for some reason clear, or rather the outside reminds you of glass. It looks so thin, so fragile and so empty. Where souls from the game looked solid, filled with colour, with strength, yours looked like it was half full of a strange white glowing substance. It was strange. It honestly made you think more of the monster souls than any of the canonical human souls and yet, even then it looked just plain WRONG. The white substance seemed to bubble and shift slowly up and down within the interior of the glass-like casing. Its weirdly gooey looking. 

It kinda reminded you of a lava lamp.

You really don’t think its supposed to be doing that...

...

You’re filled with concern....

....

........

.............

 

“W_WhAt THe fUcK_k iS W_ROng wITh T_HAt ...... ThINg_G?” He sounds disgusted. Or confused. Or maybe just plain angry? you find that its difficult to determine his tone due to the glitching in his voice. His face doesn’t give much away either. You don’t think he’s capable of making many expressions other than varying stages of discontent.

“HAhaha.... that’s new!” You cant see ink, though he sounds excited. Kinda like a kid opening a present. “It looks so weird!”

You turn around in time to see him bend over and throw up some sticky looking black substance. Your brows furrow in disgust. You feel vaguely insulted.

.....

“Rude.”

..........

Apparently you are not the only one who doesn’t think it looks right.

You’re drawn out of your reverie when you feel a pull, like something is being drawn away from you. You don’t like it. It feels wrong. You feel that you NEED this thing to stay close, inside the cavity of your ribs if possible. Looking up, you see your soul being pulled away from you by Error’s strings. It is however, moving extremely slowly. Judging from Error’s frustrated grumbling, much slower than it should be. The pull intensifies the further your soul gets from you. It feels like its desperately clinging, refusing to be drawn any further away from your body. You mentally cling at it in return. You painstakingly rise to your feet in an attempt to follow it.

You want it back!

You REFUSE to let it be taken any further.

You want to be FREE!

...

Your soul burns brightly in response.

Suddenly, the ground rears up, forming a narrow slice and shearing through the blue threads. You hear a cry of shock. Faster than you can blink, your soul rockets forth. 

You feel an impact on your chest.

You fly backwards through the air.

You smile, because you finally feel whole.

However you don’t get to celebrate for long, as you find that the movement of the world around you has shifted into overdrive. Pillars are rapidly forming and twisting left, right and centre, as the ground beneath your feet starts to violently sway and deadly spines burst forth around your feet. A chilling sense of dread washes through your mind, as ice creeps through your veins. Your body freezes in terror and you collapse, unable to hold yourself up under the combined pressure of your fear and the movement of the floor.

...

You don’t know how to deal with this.

Why is this happening?

Why do you feel like the two skeletons are pointing accusatory glares at you?

...

Do they think you somehow caused this?

 

————————————————————————————————————————

 

Error had seen many things in his lifetime. Many glitches, many different possibilities, many things that he needed to erase.

But NEVER had he seen something like THAT.

A soul isn’t meant to look like that.

Ever.

Or at least, he assumes so... 

Never the less, humans do often have unique souls. But never in that colour. Or perhaps, never in that LACK of colour? Seriously, why does it look so strange? 

Although, in a weird way, he does almost think it looks pretty....

....

Pretty disgusting. 

...

It kinda ...

 

Makes him... 

 

Want ...

 

to....

 

T E A R I T T O S H R E D S.

...

A glitch that messed up doesn’t belong in the multiverse. Its already enough of a mess, from the never ending mass of creations. It doesn’t need more AU shenanigans to clutter it up. Actually, he isn’t sure where the human came from? She doesn’t look like someone he’d observed in any AUs...

Is it.... an anomaly?

Gross. That would be even worse.

Anomaly’s are a pain to deal with. They’re so damn unpredictable.

Error decides to erase it while he has the chance. He tightens his strings around the soul, opting to cut through it or make it shatter. But first, he wants to see it a little closer. Just for curiosities sake. 

His strings pull it closer, but are met with some sort of resistance. The soul moves at a snails pace. He yanks the strings again, only to find that the soul refuses to come any closer. What the fuck?

This isn’t supposed to take that much effort.

Why cant he do it properly?

What is the meaning of this?

...

Error glares intensely at the rebellious soul, a feeling of rage beginning to twist within his non-existent stomach. He’s had enough. He releases a frustrated growl to emphasise how done he is with this crap, before moving to pull his strings taught. 

The soul glows brighter...?

A guillotine like blade forms from the ground, lurching upwards to shear through his strings. The soul rapidly returns to the girl’s chest. He notices the chaotic state of his surroundings. 

His magic boils with rage. 

“Ww_HaT!?” HOW DARE SHE!

....

How did she even do that?

Why is the anti-void such a horrifically glitchy mess all of a sudden? Its supposed to be empty- its called the anti-void for a reason! Error shakes his head in disgust. This was NOT what was supposed to happen. Today was meant to be a calm day. He was supposed to be able to relax. 

But nooooooo.

Of corse not.

Now his home is all screwy and messed up, the white nothingness transformed into a writhing mass of something-ness. It was wrong. It also looked suspiciously like the human’s strange shifting soul.

Did the human somehow cause this too?

Will whatever this is spread if the human remains? What if they somehow get into an AU, what if their weird soul causes the AU to be consumed by this strange glitch? What if she causes the destruction of the multiverse before Error can do it himself?

Unacceptable. 

He can’t allow that.

Looks like there’s another glitch Error has to deal with. 

“HUm_maN. YoU’Rre IN fO_R a B_baD TImE_e.”

 

————————————————————————————————————————

 

They definitely think you somehow caused this.

Or the glitchy one does at least, based on his declaration of an incoming awful experience.

Fear filled adrenaline kicks in and you sprint.

Apparently not a second too soon either based on the strings glancing off of the ground where you’d just been standing.  
That was close.

Too close.

You run, harder, faster, to escape the wrath of the glitching entity behind you, speeding past the other and his vile pool of black vomit. Today really isn’t your day. 

You cant believe you’re missing art class for this.

You flinch as you feel something whizz past your ear, severing a few wispy strands of hair, that fall to the ground in your wake. That... was a sharpened red bone. You panic, starting to slow, before another nicks your arm. The feeling of a bubbling warmth spurs you on to run even faster. 

You are all too aware of the slow trickle of warmth descending your upper arm as you continue to run. It’s... uncomfortable. You don’t like the feeling of its convection against the still air of the anti-void.

An echoing hum fills your ears, it sounds like the video game sound effect for a charging las- wait.

You feel the blood run out of your face as you dive to the side, transitioning into a roll, just as an enormous blast of energy hits. You complete the roll, popping onto your feet, heart racing, mouth ajar in a silent shriek. You can feel the heat, even though you weren’t hit. Fear constricts your throat. You want to scream, or cry, but you’re too scared to do either, so you just continue to run. That’s all you can do.

Or it was, until you trip. 

your soul is ripped from your chest, but hovers in front of it, refusing to budge any further.

You hear a series of thuds around you, as sharpened femurs pin your clothes to the ground.

You curl up, arms braced over your head in a futile attempt to protect your self.

You know there is no time to get up, as a sharp pain wrenches through your chest, your soul having been cut by a final femur. The white goop within slowly drips out as you listen to the humming charge of the blaster. Errors manic laughter mixes into the sound, chilling you to the bone.

With silent tears tracing a path down your cheeks and the goopy fluids of your soul forming a puddle, you wait helplessly for your death.

 

 

But then....

 

Nothing happens.

 

You open your eyes in morbid curiosity to see Ink standing in front of you.

He holds a wide stance, facing a wall of ink. His back is facing you. He looks really cool in this pose.... you absently resolve to draw it later.....

He looks back over his shoulder, before flicking his paintbrush at you. Splatters of paint land on and dissolve the bones holding you captive. He then gestures for you to stand. 

Hesitantly you do so.

His attention is drawn back to the wall of ink as Error releases a frustrated screech. 

The wall collapses.

“Run!”

You run. 

You hear them clash.

You continue to sprint.

You wish a hole would open up in the ground and swallow you.

 

It does.

 

You fall down into the darkness once more, the last you see of the anti-void being Ink convulsing in the puddle of soul fluids, with Error standing over him.

You lock eyes with the glitched skeleton.

He mouths ‘next time’.

 

Terror consumes you as the light fades to nothingness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, thank you to those of you who’ve been reading this!
> 
> An extra thanks to those who’ve commented! It’s super cool that people like this enough to interact with the story!
> 
> (I honestly get so excited when I get an email to say I have a comment or some kudos)
> 
> Sorry for the delay with this chapter, I’ve been halfway through it for about six weeks because I got caught up with my Uni work and moving into lodge.
> 
> Also, as an added extra, I did a minor animation to demonstrate how the soul looks!
> 
> You can find it here on my tumblr:
> 
> https://sparticus2000art.tumblr.com
> 
> I couldn’t figure out how to link the exact post....

**Author's Note:**

> By the way, this fic has inspirations from the works:
> 
> Error 404 soul not found by poker  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/15594525/chapters/36206298
> 
> The Glitch by LazyRainDancer  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/12726867/chapters/29023554
> 
> The jumper and the skeletons by LostImmortality  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/11817324/chapters/26663103
> 
> All of these are really good stories, and I would highly recommend reading them.  
> The authors also actually know how to write properly... so that’s a thing.
> 
> Yay
> 
>  
> 
> Oh yeah
> 
> Sorry this is so short by the way.
> 
> Following chapters will hopefully be a bit longer than this.


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